Getting through the holidays

During Advent, I am hoping to do random acts of kindness and to keep a record of them. My work activities do not count, but kind acts for people and animals do. These acts of kindness will "pad the manger," so to speak. The skies have been overcast the last few days. Perhaps, because of the gloom, or that carols were coming out of the car speaker, I had a rough start at work. I researched articles about getting through the holidays. I read that people think about the deceased in a way that they remember, which probably isn't how the person really was in life. The thought comforted me. Laughing, joking, playing games with my mother, repeating little rituals. I knew as tears fell that I needed to get busy, to distract myself. I need to grieve also, but not at work. So I checked all the arrangements and flowers and changed the water. When my back began to hurt, I sat down for a while.